Foreign Minister meets UNCITRAL Secretary General

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Environment, Dr. George W. Vella, yesterday morning had a meeting with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Dr. Gerold Herrmann, and Dr. Renaud Sorieul, Senior Legal Officer at the Commission. During this meeting relations between the UN Commission and the Maltese Government were discussed. The Commission was established by the General Assembly in 1966 with the mandate to further the progressive harmonisation and unification of international trade law.

Minister Dr. George W. Vella expressed extensive interest in the work undertaken by UNCITRAL and emphasised Malta's constant efforts to promote and to maintain up to international standards its domestic legal environment, particularly in the maritime and financial services sphere.

Dr. Herrmann remarked that his visit could be viewed as a useful starting-point from where a more enhanced level of co-operation can be initiated between Malta and UNCITRAL. This process would serve Malta positively in its efforts to harmonise its domestic legislation with international trade law.

Other issues discussed in the meeting included UNCITRAL's assistance given to the Maltese Government in the drafting of the Arbitration Act, on the basis of the UNCITRAL Model on International Commercial Arbitration, and the benefits related to the widespread adoption of UNCITRAL legal texts. The meeting also explored the possibility of obtaining further technical assistance and advice from UNCITRAL with respect to the marketing strategy to be adopted in the international field, in order to promote the new Malta Arbitration Centre.